Tenacious
by Cruza
Summary: Tenx Medici, daughter of a successful Italian restaurateur, loved going to Japan as a child for summer school. Now able to attend school full-time in Japan from Italy, a past friend re-emerges and shows her that tennis isn't just about hitting a ball.
1. Chapter 1

Hello there, Cruza here. This isn't exactly my first fanfiction, seeing as I was a writer on Quizilla (previously known as Imouto-Neko-Chan). As stated in the original version, this story is dedicated to my friend whom I shall refer to as Inu. Feedback is much appreciated.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. That prestigious honor belongs to sir Takeshi Konomi. I do, however, own all of the original character concepts, and plot. The main character belongs to my friend. Thank you.

* * *

**Chapter One : Return**

Her fingers were clack clacking away at the keys of her laptop. Sharp blue eyes scanned the words contained in the recently received e-mail from a good friend of hers. Her right hand reached up and tucked a few stray strands of shoulder-length blond hair behind her ear. A smile crept its way across her face as she sighed and moved her head to stare out of the airplane's window. She would be arriving soon. She was on her way to Japan, where her father was waiting. Her name you may ask? Tenx Medici. Half Italian on her father's side and half-Japanese on her mother's side; she looked more European than anything. She traveled to Japan on occasion with her mother and even attended summer school in the land of the rising sun. However, for the most part, she was educated in Italy, her father's homeland. But now, her father, a successful restaurateur who just opened a new chain of Italian restaurants in Japan, would be allowing her to attend middle school and high school there. It was something she had always dreamed of. She loved the country because it was, after all, the place where she had met her best friend... The same one whose e-mail was still displayed on the screen of her trusty laptop...

* * *

~Flashback~

_Young Tenx, probably no more than eight or so years old, always looked forward to staying in Japan for the three months of summer. That year she decided to attended summer school in the country. Why? She had a burning desire to become fluent in their intriguing language. That's why. And there, in the same school in the same class, she came across another foreign student - though this one wasn't as obvious. _

_This particular young girl was a foreign exchange student from the Philippines, a neighboring country of Japan to the south. So yes, she was Filipina. Her golden brown skin set her apart from most of her fair-skinned peers as she sat at the seat closest to the window. Her chocolate brown eyes gazed out at the trees from behind the frame less glasses that sat on the bridge of her nose. Her silky black hair reached her mid-back and was tied in a rather long ponytail as she sat silently, ignoring everyone else in the classroom. Why Tenx decided to approach this particular student she never really did understand. All she knew was that the Filipina was giving off this "vibe," as she called it, that was similar to her own feelings for being at the summer school: calm on the outside yet excited on the inside and seemingly detached from the world around her. Well, whatever the reason was, the young Medici just knew that this girl was different, unique._

_A goofy yet friendly grin on her face, the rather pale (though not sickly pale or pale as in one that had never seen the sun before) European girl approached the Filipina and when she stood next to her, stuck out her hand. The Filipina noticed it from the corner of her eyes and slowly turned her head to meet Tenx's enthusiastic stare with her own calm glance. _

_"Hi," said the Italian in Japanese, "Uhhh...Medici Tenx, desu. Umm..." She trailed off but was a bit caught off guard when the other girl responded, in English no less. _

_"Hello, pleasure to meet you Tenx-chan. Don't worry; I can speak English fine so don't wrack your brain." The Filipina's chocolate brown eyes danced in amusement at the astonishment she found in the European's blue ones. The former wrapped her slender fingers around the latter's hand as she introduced herself, "Eriol Cruz." _

_Tenx eventually snapped out of her daze and her grin returned. "Eriol, huh? So, you can speak English?" _

_Eriol nodded and withdrew her hand, "Yes, I'm here for Japanese classes. My guess is that you are too...?" _

_"Yep! You betcha!" _

_And that was the start of a beautiful friendship, so to speak. Both Tenx and Eriol got along well, making so many inside jokes with the lessons they learned in class. One particular day, they decided to give the other nicknames derived from the Japanese words for different animals. Tenx loved dogs, therefore Eriol dubbed her 'Inu' whereas Eriol loved cats so she was called 'Neko.' _

_"Basu means bus?" Eriol asked, staring down at the paperwork before her. She had invited Tenx over to her house to complete a homework assignment together and the two had gone to the Filipina's room to work. The Filipina was on her belly on the floor, a pillow under her arms. She eyed the Italiana lazily as she was hunched over her work, sitting on the floor._

_"Hai!" Tenx responded, looking up from her own papers, "So...yellow bus is...kiiro basu...?" Eriol scoffed. She then scribbled something on the paper and, highly curious, Tenx took it when she was finished writing. _

_"What the heck?! 'Nekobasu?!' Cat bus?!" she exclaimed, totally confused. _

_Eriol gave her friend a smirk, "Yes, 'nekobasu.' Or, would you prefer 'konekobasu,' kitten bus?" The two ended up laughing and making up more senseless words. Needless to say, no work got done...  
_  
~End Flashback~

* * *

Snapping back to reality, the now fourteen-year-old Tenx realized she had a stupid smile on her face and quickly righted herself. Almost as quickly as they had met, both had to leave. When summer was over, Tenx had to leave for Italy again. She was crestfallen to learn that Eriol wouldn't be in Japan the next time Tenx was. Why? Eriol had to return to the Philippines. Her foreign exchange student program expired that year and the summer school class she took was to master what little Japanese she had yet to learn. And, that was the last time the Italian girl saw the bespectacled Filipina. However, they still kept in contact through e-mails. Whoops! Almost forgot. Tenx turned her head back to her laptop, her friend's message still displayed on the screen. It read:

_Tenx, _

_It's great how things are going for you and your family. Sounds like your father's making quite the name for himself with those restaurants of his. I'm guessing you'll be leaving for Japan soon. Or, knowing you, you're probably already on a plane that's almost at the Tokyo airport. Well, am I right? Ne, write me back soon. You've no idea how boring (and painful I might add) it is for me to sit here typing this up while my grandmother babbles excessively about a party we're hosting in two weeks in the background. _

_- Eriol _

Tenx stifled a hearty chuckle. Ah yes, Eriol's family. Tenx knew about them, and their social status in the Philippines. She found out when she and her Filipina friend had a sleepover at the latter's house - scratch that - mansion. Seriously, the "house" was HUGE. Apparently, it was the Cruz family vacation home and Eriol was there with her grandparents. Tenx had eventually learned that Eriol was the granddaughter of a successful accountant turned CEO of a company specializing in the medical field (her grandfather) and the heiress to an extremely large inheritance in land (her grandmother). It took a while for Tenx to understand but Eriol had patiently explained the entire situation to her: her grandfather was really good at math, excelled in the medical field, and had a lot of business smarts while her grandmother had a very wealthy father who lent money to people and held onto the deeds to their land while waiting to be paid back (most never did so the land legally belonged to Eriol's family). Eriol was constantly expressing her annoyance for helping her grandmother plan out lavish parties in which she was required to dress nicely and be on her best behavior. Tenx was invited to one such party and through it developed a new found respect for her high-class friend who constantly sat through these hours of torture without so much as a sigh of boredom. As the Italiana was about to begin composing her response, a pleasant ding was heard throughout the cabin of the plane. Tenx sighed and closed her laptop; the pilot had just announced that they would be landing soon. She looked out the window and her blue eyes shone with anticipation as they caught sight of the many buildings of Tokyo below.

* * *

Saturday, the day she landed in Japan, quickly melded into Sunday and Sunday suddenly became Monday. Oh how fast the weekend went for Tenx, with all the unpacking and getting settled into her new house. It was nothing special; just an ordinary two-story house in the suburbs of Tokyo. And it wasn't all that far from the new school she was to attend: Seishun Gakuen. According to her father, there was a tennis team there that she could try out for. Now, Tenx was a bit nervous at this proposal. Why? She had only picked up a racquet a year ago, thus she lacked confidence in her own abilities.

"Just give it a try," her father said, dropping her off in front of the school that morning, "Besides, I already filled out the application for you. And, if it wasn't meant to be, then it wasn't meant to be."

"You suck," the younger Medici grumbled, getting out of the car with her school bag in one hand and her tennis bag slung over her shoulder.

Her father chuckled, "Love you too. Bye."

"Bye..." The blond-haired Italiana watched her father's car drive off. With a sigh she turned to take a good look at her new school. She huffed, tugging at the green skirt a bit, and then set off to find the office to get her schedule. It didn't help that she entered Seishun in the middle of the second month of the school year. Sure, the year was still technically beginning but she was still the new kid and she never really liked that feeling. Well, at least she could read the signs yeah? Following them, she found herself in front of the school office. Just as she was reaching for the handle, the door flung wide open and there stood a boy not much older than Tenx herself with a couple boxes in hand. The Italiana's blue eyes locked with his black ones and they stared at each other for...quite a bit.

"Oi, Mamushi!" a voice behind the boy called, "Get a move on yeah? These boxes are heavy!"

The boy broke eye contact with Tenx and turned his head to the side, talking back to the owner of the voice behind him, "Shut up, you idiot."

"EH?! You wanna start something?!"

The boy in front scoffed, "Baka, we have to deliver these boxes. I'll kick your ass later." He then walked off in the direction opposite Tenx and not more than a few seconds later a second boy with black hair and violet eyes followed, a scowl on his face.

"Oh...kay...," the Italiana commented, watching them go for a few seconds and then entering the office herself.

* * *

Tenx was outside her first period classroom, shuffling her feet in place. She huffed, turning her attention from her feet to the door. On the other side, she could hear the teacher prepping the class for their new student. She pursed her lips together. Come on now! She was just another student for goodness' sake! There's no reason to prep them. It's not like she'll give anyone a heart attack because they didn't know she was coming. Heck, she didn't even know anyone at this school.

"You may come in now," Tenx heard the teacher call for her. Drawing in and expelling a deep breath, Tenx opened the door and entered the classroom and went over to stand next to the teacher.

She bowed politely and introduced herself to the class, "Ohayo, minna-san. Medici Tenx, desu. Please take care of me."

"Thank you," the teacher said as she was straightening up, "Would you like to say a few things about yourself, Tenx-chan?"

"Oh, not at the moment. But I will say that although I am from Italy, I have been to Japan a few times before. I look forward to the new school year here," replied the Italiana. The teacher gave a nod and pointed at two open seats by a girl seated at a window.

"Please, pick one of the two seats available."

"Thank you," Tenx said with a curt nod, heading up the aisle to the empty seats. Her piercing blue eyes were focused on the girl who occupied the only seat there. She was staring out the window, at the trees just beyond them. Her chocolate brown eyes...her sun-tanned skin... This girl...she was so familiar... The girl turned toward Tenx and gave her an acknowledging nod as the Italiana picked the open seat right next to her. _'She has a distant look in her eyes,'_ Tenx noted as she returned the nod and sat down, facing the front of the room. The teacher began writing notes on the board, about a lesson he had begun the day earlier. It had to do with homophones and similar subjects in the English language. Tenx reached into her bag and produced a few pieces of paper as well as a pencil to write with. From the corner of her eye, she noticed the girl pull out a notebook and a pencil as well. She seemed to open to a random page and began writing. There was just something about her that struck Tenx as odd... The blond shrugged it off; this was a new school, new things were bound to be perceived as odd. Minutes passed and Tenx was totally into the lecture and the notes. It's not that she was new to the subject as English; she wanted to know what the class knew. After all, she spoke English fine.

"Nekobasu... Konekobasu...," the Italiana faintly heard from her left. She immediately stopped writing and slowly turned her head to face the girl on her left, white as a ghost. Had she heard her classmate clearly? The sight of the girl merely writing in her notebook and not even sparing Tenx a glance greeted her blue eyes. However, as the girl turned a page of her notebook, Tenx was able to glimpse the picture of a bus with features of a cat on it. _'Nekobasu...'_ Tenx realized. Just then the door opened and Tenx's attention was drawn there. She could hardly believe her eyes; it was the boy from earlier, not the loud one but the one in front of the loud one.

"Gomen," the boy bowed to the teacher, who was writing more notes on the board, "I was delivering packages to Ryuuzaki-sensei. I didn't know it would take that long."

"It's okay, Kaidoh-kun," the teacher said. He then pointed at the empty chair by Tenx, "Please have a seat and copy down the notes."

"Hai..." The boy Tenx now knew as Kaidoh walked down the aisle and for a brief moment, their eyes met for the second time that day. Kaidoh took sat down and opened his own notebook, scribbling down notes as fast as he could.

"Ano...Medici-chan," came the soft voice of the girl to her left.

Tenx blinked a few times and faced in her direction, "Hai?"

The girl handed her a folded piece of paper, obviously ripped from her notebook, "Please hand this to Kaidoh-kun on your right. It's very important."

"Uh...hai...," the Italiana replied, a bit confused. She took the paper from the other girl and turned to her right. "Excuse me, Kaidoh-san?" Kaidoh looked up from his note taking to spare Tenx a glance. "Here, this is for you from...," she trailed off, holding the folded up piece of paper out to him. Kaidoh took the paper but looked at Tenx, waiting for her to utter the name of the one who sent the note. Tenx leaned back in her chair and pointed at the girl to her left. In response, Kaidoh moved forward a little in order to get a better view of who sat on the other side. The girl, noticing this, moved forward a bit and sent Kaidoh a friendly smile and wave. A look of recognition came across the male's face as he nodded and sat normally again, opening the note and reading it. After quickly reading it, he scribbled something on it and turned to Tenx.

"Ano...I didn't get your name, but could you send this back?" he asked, in a low gruff voice.

"Sure...," Tenx replied, confused and totally out of the loop. She had sat back and watched the whole exchange. She took the note and handed back to the girl.

The girl opened it and replied while reading, "Araigatou, Medici-chan."

"A-ah...," Tenx nodded.

* * *

The rest of her classes zoomed by and she had met a few new people. The friendliest, she had to admit, was Seiki Mayonaka. She was a member of the tennis team there and seemed to be overjoyed at the prospect at having Tenx on the team.

"You should most definitely try out," Seiki told her on the way to lunch after art, "Buchou would love to have you on the team. And I'm sure fukubuchou wouldn't mind!"

Tenx chuckled, "Thanks, Seiki-chan. Perhaps I'll give it a go, hm?"

Seiki grinned and turned her attention from her new friend to ahead of her, "Ah! We're here. Hey guys!" The silver-haired girl waved at a group of girls and two boys seated under a sakura tree.

"Hey! It's Seiki! Ne, isn't that the new girl?" the boy with violet eyes shouted. Tenx recognized him from that morning.

"The new girl has a name," Seiki said, as she and Tenx stood before the group, "This is Medici Tenx. She's from Italy. Tenx, the dimwit is Momo."

"Oi! I'm not a dimwit," Momo retorted, "I just haven't met her yet."

"Sure... Anyway, I'm sure you've already met Kaidoh since you both have English first period," Seiki went on. Tenx and Kaidoh merely nodded at each other. "Great! Okay, so these are some of the other members of the girl's tennis team," Seiki went on, pointing to each one as she introduced them, "That's Yuzuki Asahi who plays doubles with her partner, Uminai Yoshimi. And that's Takona Satsuki. She plays doubles with one of our senpai." Tenx smiled and gave a wave as the mentioned group said a chorus of greetings. Seiki looked around, "Hey...where's fukubuchou?"

"Mm? Oh! She's with buchou," Asahi replied.

"Ah...that's too bad. I wanted Tenx to meet with her before she tried out for the team," Seiki sighed.

"Ne, ne. Are you ladies gonna stand there chatting for an hour or are you two gonna join us for lunch?" Momo interrupted.

"Fine, fine," Seiki said, waving a dismissive hand, "Come, Tenx-chan. Let's have lunch, ne? I'll take you to the courts after school."

"Hai. Araigatou."

* * *

The day seemed to speed by for new student Tenx. Although, she didn't think she was all that ready to face the buchou and fukubuchou of the girl's tennis team. Why? Well, there's a reason each obtained the position they have now, right? Tenx definitely wasn't sure of herself but her new found friends were trying to reassure her.

"Don't worry so much about Hinami-buchou," Asahi told her, "She's awesome! She doesn't care if you have one week or three years of experience; she gives everyone a chance."

"Ne, ne. But it's fukubuchou who usually helps Hinami-buchou decide on whose best for the team," Satsuki added.

"The...team?" Tenx questioned, "But, isn't this a tennis club...?"

"Hai, demo...," Yoshimi began, opening the door to the locker room for the others to enter, "The tennis club and the tennis team are two separate groups, although both interact with each other frequently. The team consists of the elite of the club."

"Oh...," Tenx murmured, "So..."

"So! All you really need to do is make a good impression on both Hinami-buchou and fukubuchou!" Satsuki exclaimed.

"Oh...joy...," the Italiana groaned, getting ready to change into her athletic clothes, seeing as she didn't have a uniform as the other girls did.

The girls were simply rallying on the courts. A few were having practice matches before formal practice began. Tenx was rallying with Seiki, trying to find some confidence in herself.

"Ne, Tenx-chan," Seiki called from across the net, "You have great form. No movement wasted."

"Heh...araigatou..." The creak of the gate to the courts resounded throughout the girl's courts, prompting some of the members to turn toward it.

"Konnichiwa, minna-san!" a cheerful voice greeted the club as a whole. Tenx cast her bright blue gaze upon the owner of the voice and was shocked: there stood the girl from her first period class. She was dressed in a regular's uniform and carrying a clipboard in her right hand.

"Konnichiwa, fukubuchou!" a chorus of voices responded.

"Fuku...buchou...?" the Italiana repeated, dumbfounded. This...girl was the vice-captain?! Then...that technically made her...Tenx's superior...

"Ne, Tenx-chan?" Seiki touched her shoulder, causing the surprised Italiana to turn to her silver-haired friend, "You zoned out for a minute. C'mon, fukubuchou called the team in." Tenx cast her blue eyes back in the direction of newly arrived female and found that all the other club members were gathering around her.

"Oh...yeah..."

She followed Seiki and noticed that all the girls were getting into rows.

"Uhhh...Seiki-chan?"

"Hmm? Oh, just stand behind me. You'll be fine," the other female answered.

"Okay...if you say so..." Within a matter of seconds, things quieted down and the only sound that could be heard was that of the fukubuchou lifting up a paper on the clipboard to read the sheet beneath it.

"Ne...," began the raven-haired vice-captain, "Hinami-buchou will not be joining us today. She and Tezuka-buchou are with Ryuuzaki-sensei on a captain's meeting. That means that Oishi-san and I are in charge of our respective clubs today. And, we've decided that today we will have co-ed practice." She raised her chocolate brown eyes from the clipboard and beamed a smile at the enthusiastic female tennis players before returning her gaze to what she held in her hands. "Ne, before the boys arrive though, I'd like for us to complete our drills. Everyone, I want twenty laps around the tennis courts. Afterward, I want all the eighth graders to practice ground strokes and seventh graders are to be in position to collect the balls. Ninth graders, you will be supervising this drill and feeding the balls. As for the regulars, you are to come with me to the boy's courts. Inui-san said he had a special workout in store. Got it? All right then, hop to it ladies!"

"Hai, fukubuchou!" came the reply shared by many voices. The large group of female tennis players then began to make their way to the exit to begin their laps. However, the vice-captain's voice rang out again and called out to one particular female, "Saa...Medici-chan. Where do you think you're going?"

The mentioned was just barely making her way passed the former. "I...I was going to run my laps with the other girls…" came the slow, confused reply.

The vice-captain once again raised her head and turned her warm chocolate brown gaze on the Italiana. "In my hands I have the application to join the tennis team. Now, for filling it out, you automatically become a member of the club."

"But I didn't-"

"Yes, I know," the raven-haired female interrupted her, chuckling, "But, the fact still remains that the application has been filled out and submitted. So, that means I have to take care of it." Tenx stared at the smiling fukubuchou as if she had just sprouted another head. What she was saying...it wasn't adding up for her. And then, as if the other female knew what Tenx was thinking, she said, "That means that you'll be accompanying me to the boy's courts, Medici-chan, so I can ascertain your skill level."

"Oh..." Italiana blinked, still confused as ever. _'This isn't going to end well...'_ was the single thought running through her mind as she followed the vice-captain out of the girl's court, clutching her own racquet for security. With her back to Tenx, the latter was unable to see the smirk on the vice-captain's face.

_'Inu...long time no see...Everything's going according to plan...'_


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of its characters. That prestigious honor belongs to sir Takeshi Konomi. I do, however, own all of the original character concepts, and plot. The main character belongs to my friend. Thank you.

* * *

**Chapter Two: Realization  
**

Sitting on her comfy bed with plain black bed sheets, Tenx lay on her back staring at her cream colored ceiling. Beside her bed was her tennis bag, carelessly dropped on the floor, next to her school bag. On the desk just a few feet away from the head of her bed sat the various different text books she had taken home due to the fact the teachers that taught those classes had a class set and she was able to keep these at home. However, quickly thrown over the back of that desk's chair was a jacket with blue sleeves with a red stripe going down them and the collar. Emblazoned on the back, in big bold letters, was "Seigaku." It was the official regular's jacket for Seishun's girls tennis team – and it wasn't that much different from the boys' jacket save for the fact it was smaller and more form fitting and suited for girls. Flipping over on her side to get a better look at it, the Italiana let out a sigh. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and ran a hand through her choppy blond hair, her sharp blue eyes never leaving the jacket. It would be an understatement to say that she was confused; the day's events just whizzed by before she could really get a good grasp on them. So, she did what she always did when something that had transpired during the course of the day confused her - she sat quietly and waded through her memories of the day's events in silence...

* * *

Tenx had followed the raven-haired vice-captain as she led them to the boy's courts, totally oblivious to the Italiana's nervousness. She wasn't ready for this! She could keep a rally going, yes, but to keep said rally going on for long periods of time? Nu-uh. There was just no way she could measure up to the skills of the regulars - they must have had years of coaching and training to reach the level of tennis they were at. And Tenx, for one, didn't exactly count herself as a tennis prodigy. She had barely begun to swing a racket correctly a year ago! Oh man, when she got home that day her dad was surely gonna -

"Medici-chan?" the vice-captain's voice rang out, interrupting Tenx's thoughts.

"Uh...hai?" the mentioned replied, slightly dazed as she looked up from her feet to meet the other female's eyes. The latter merely smiled and jerked a thumb over her shoulder.

"We're here, Medici-chan. Try not to look so worried; the boys don't bite. I know you've already met the girls so, if it makes you feel better, we can hit a little later when they get here," the fukubuchou informed her in a pleasant tone. Tenx's blue eyes moved from the smiling vice-captain in front of her, to the open gate leading to the courts behind her, to the boys on the courts flawlessly rallying back and forth. She gulped and felt her confidence level shrink even more.

"Yes, please, I'd like that," Tenx replied with a nervous grin, gripping her racket all the more tighter. The blond's actions merited a small chuckle from the dark-haired girl. Tenx's blue eyes were trained on the fukubuchou and she felt a little better seeing someone so bright and seemingly carefree. However, that feeling dulled a little when she came to the realization that this girl was the vice-captain for a reason - she had serious skills. She had to have them. Why else would she hold such a title?

"Ah, Vice Captain Oishi," the raven-haired girl's voice broke Tenx's train of thought. The Italiana looked up and noticed that the other had her back to her, addressing a boy wearing the Seigaku boy's tennis team uniform. How did Tenx know? The word 'Seigaku' emblazoned on the jacket gave it away. Anyway, back to the boy. He had dark green eyes* and black hair - styled in quite a strange way, to say the least. It looked like he was wearing a swimming cap with two little tufts of hair sticking out in the front. He had a warm smile on his face as he approached her companion, and even shot Tenx a friendly smile.

"I'm glad that both the boys and the girls team took to our idea with such enthusiasm," Oishi said to his female counterpart, "I'm sure today will be quite enjoyable and fruitful for the two teams."

The female vice captain laughed and agreed wholeheartedly, "On most occasions, when we vice-captains are in charge while the captains are away, we can handle our respective teams without much incident. However, a little change every now and then is good. I'm sure both the boys and the girls can benefit from practicing with one another."

Oishi nodded at the female vice-captain's words and then said, "Oh yes, how rude of me. This must be the new student - Medici Tenx, yes?" His attention had shifted to the blond Italiana standing idly by the raven-haired female.

Tenx blinked and was a bit surprised that she was suddenly addressed. "Oh, uh...yes, that's me," she said, adding in her own grin.

The male vice captain simply nodded at her answer and added, "Ah, you have a racket with you. Are you trying out for the team today?"

"Uh...yeah, I am," Tenx answered, looking over at the female vice captain. The latter merely smiled at her.

"And we're looking forward to seeing what she is capable of," the vice captain added with a nod to Oishi.

_'I just hope I don't end up making a fool of myself,'_ Tenx thought with a nervous chuckle.

* * *

"So, Medici-chan, this is Kaidoh. Kaidoh, meet Medici Tenx...," Oishi said, gesturing to each tennis player as he said his name. He was, however, stopped by Tenx when she looked up at the slightly taller Kaidoh and smiled.

"Hello again," greeted the female.

"Ah...," was the Viper's reply.

"Oh! So the two of your are already acquainted with one another. Great, that makes things much easier," Oishi said brightly, "Medici-chan, you will be rallying with Kaidoh. Your assessment will come shortly but we have some other matters to attend to. Don't worry; we'll call you in when we're ready." With another smile, and after handing Kaidoh three tennis balls, Oishi left the two behind on one of the courts further down.

Tenx had thought it rather strange that once the regulars of both tennis teams had arrived that the female vice captain went off to greet them and give them their instructions, leaving Oishi to tell her what to do. She supposed it had to do with the fact that the girl held the clipboard and Oishi didn't. Oh well. Either way, she was going to be playing tennis today.

"I'll take this side, if that's okay with you, Kaidoh," Tenx said, indicating the side of the court they were currently standing on.

"Ah, that's fine," Kaidoh replied, tossing one ball Tenx's way to hold as he pocketed one ball and bounced the other with his racket as he walked to the other side of the court.

Tenx let the ball bounce once before catching it on its way back up and putting that into her pocket. Her blue eyes watched Kaidoh's retreating figure as she backtracked to the center of the baseline. All those days of practicing came down to this one moment: whether or not she could actually keep a rally going with an actual member of the boy's tennis team. Granted she didn't know the difference between the team and the rest of the club until a little while ago nor did she realize she would be trying out today until this morning, she supposed she was being a little over-dramatic. After all, she was here to warm-up. Right? Oishi said they would call her in when they were ready to assess her skills...right? Might as well give it all she had if she hoped to at least impress the team members.

Kaidoh bounced the ball a few times before hitting an easy forehand ground stroke over the net and toward Tenx. The female took a few steps to get into position, bent her left knee forward while bringing her right arm and racket back, and once the ball was in the area between her chest and hip on the way back up from bouncing, hit a return forehand to Seishun's Viper. Tenx's shot was heading straight down the court, back to where Kaidoh was standing. The male tennis player had to take a few steps off to the side so he could get into the right position to return it to the Italiana, who had gotten into the basic ready position (feet shoulder-width apart with knees slightly bent and racket out in front with both hands on the grip) and was eagerly awaiting the next shot.

_'At least she's got the right mentality...,'_ Kaidoh mentally approved of his warm-up partner. The shot he then hit was a forehand aimed straight at the left corner of Tenx's side of the court. He then moved back to the center of the baseline and watched calmly as Tenx reacted to his shot. The Italiana began moving in the direction the ball was aimed at the moment she noticed Kaidoh's body turn to angle his shot to move that way. Call it intuition, but Tenx knew that players had to position themselves and hit the ball a certain way to get the ball to move where it was they wanted. And, by reading their body movements, Tenx was almost certain she knew where the ball would be going. Okay, so maybe being a couch potato and doing nothing but watch the Grand Slams when they rolled around that time of year did pay off a little...

Anyway, Tenx dashed toward the corner and made it a little before the ball had bounced. She pulled her racket back and waited for it to come back up before sending another forehand down Kaidoh's court. This time, however, she returned the favor and aimed for the opposite corner of Kaidoh's court. To this, the Viper smirked and chased the ball down. Tenx's gaze never moved from him as she made her way back to the center of the court. Clearly this was going to be a rally the both of them could enjoy as Tenx proved she could match a few basic ground strokes the Viper threw at her.

It was then that Tenx notice Kaidoh get into position for a shot...but it was confusing. It looked like he was going for a regular forehand, but the movement of his right arm... It was like he just brushed the ball up or something. Pursing her lips together, Tenx went after the ball anyway but was taken aback when the ball suddenly curved and went for the corner of her court again. She barely missed it. Turning her gaze onto Kaidoh, she saw him merely reaching up and adjusting the green bandana on his head. Tenx frowned. So, Kaidoh had an ace up his sleeve. Eh? Fine. Be that way.

Tenx returned to the baseline, took out the ball she had in her pocket, bounced it a few times, and then quickly hit a forehand to Kaidoh. The speen and power packed behind that shot caught Kaidoh off guard for a moment, as he attempted to hit the ball cross court again. But what really caught him off guard was the fact that Tenx was charging the net and aggressively volleying the ball away from the Viper. Kaidoh, however, wasn't one to let a ball go passed him without doing anything so he went after the ball - only managing to weakly lob the ball over and set Tenx up for a smash. After winning that point, Kaidoh made eye-contact with the Italiana and the latter smirked...

* * *

"Nice call," Inui said, scribbling away in his green notebook. He raised his bespectacled eyes to gaze at the smaller female vice captain who wore a pleased smile on her face as she watched the on-going rally between Kaidoh and Tenx from behind the fence that spanned the perimeter of all the courts. Of course, the two were at a distance so as not to be noticed by the either player. "How did you know that Kaidoh would be the perfect opponent for Medici to play against in order to properly assess her abilities?"

"If I know Tenx," the female responding, folding her arms over her chest, "I know that she's extremely tenacious. She doesn't give up. And who else fits that description? Why, Kaidoh of course."

"Of course...," Inui repeated with a chuckle before returning to his note taking.

* * *

About forty-five minutes later, Oishi called Kaidoh and Tenx in. He held in his hands the same clipboard the female vice captain before him did. How did Tenx know? She could see her application filled out at the top of the small pile of papers attached to it. Oishi smiled pleasantly at them.

"Ah, looks like I'll be the one giving you the news then," Oishi said, confusing both tennis players.

"News? What news?" Tenx questioned, "And where is fukubuchou?"

"She had to leave early," Oishi said, flipping through the papers quickly before looking back at them, "She had to do something for her grandparents. In the meantime, I'm here to tell you-"

"I found it!" an energetic voice cut him off. Tenx immediately recognized it as Seiki's. The bubbly female came bounding up to the trio with a bag in her hand. "I found the extra starter's jersey fukubuchou was talking about. It was way at the top of the shelves in the club room."

"Starter's jersey?" Tenx repeated, looking from the grinning Seiki to Oishi who looked like he was trying to keep from smiling.

"That's right," Oishi said, taking the bag from Seiki and handing it to Tenx, "Starter's jersey. Our data expert, Inui, and your fukubuchou were watching you rally with Kaidoh the whole time and both decided you were just what the girl's team needed. Congradulations. You made the team."

Tenx stood there dumbfounded for a moment as Seiki cheered. She barely reciprocated the hug Seiki gave her before she managed to snap out of her daze. She then turned to Oishi and bowed her head, saying "Thank you" over and over and over again. She looked into the bag and saw the new jersey neatly folded inside and could barely hold back a squeal of delight.

"Good job, Medici-" Kaidoh began but was cut off when Tenx suddenly turned on him and enveloped him in a hug.

"Oh, thank you Kaidoh! I wouldn't have made it if it wasn't for you!" she said. Kaidoh, in response, made his trademark 'fssh' sound as his cheeks were tinged a very, very light pink.

* * *

"That's what happened all right...," Tenx said to herself as she continued staring at the jacket on the chair from her seat on her bed, "Still, that's pretty hard to believe." She got up and walked over to the chair and let her fingers run across the cool fabric of the jersey. A smile etched its was upon her face as she looked up from her new jersey to her desk. Sitting near the lamp was a framed picture of her and her best friend - Eriol. Her smile faded a bit as she reached for the picture and brought it closer to her. She peered at her younger self, still as fair-skinned as ever even when compared to the bronze-skinned, raven-haired Filipina...

"Wait a minute," Tenx said out loud, squinting at the picture. Raven-black hair, chocolate-brown eyes, the same skin tone as the fukubuchou... The fukubuchou had to Filipino too! Or...wait...wait...wait.... It couldn't be! Eriol couldn't be... There was just no way that... Eriol wouldn't be so cruel as to be there, under Tenx's nose the whole time and not say anything...right?

"HOLY SHI-"

* * *

"Achoo!" the mentioned sneezed. Eriol grinned and laughed to herself as she said, "Ha! Someone must be talking about me. I always did love these superstitions..." Sniffling a little, the fukubuchou - Eriol Cruz - lifted her chocolate brown eyes to the darkening sky. Navy blue was predominant above her head, but closer to where the sun was setting a brilliant fire of orange, ruby red, and yellow claimed the skies. She sat on her favorite cushioned chair on the patio behind her grandparent's vacation house. Well, it was being used for more than just a vacation now. The many different species of flowers in the gardens of her backyard served to relax her as she stared up at the sky. However, there was just one more disturbance that would make her laugh. A rather short burst of wind blew through the garden, and in that wind Eriol could have sworn she heard Tenx's voice uttering a phrase of exclamation. Eriol uttered a laugh, "Oh well. Looks like I've been found out."

* * *

* Okay, really what is Oishi's eye color? I did some research online and this is what I found. Anyone is free to message me on the topic.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **Okay, so most of this chapter will be a ginormous flashback. Hence the title. So yeah....

Enjoy.

And...Prince of Tennis nor any of its characters belong to me - they belong to Takeshi Konomi. The original characters and plot do belong to me, but Tenx Medici belongs to Tenxtena. Thank you.

* * *

**Chapter Three: Remembrance**

_"It's not about how hard you hit the ball, Tenx. It's about how you hit it."_

_The eight-year old Italiana gave a short huff of frustration. In her hands was a brilliant red Wilson tennis racket -- brand new and lent to her for the purpose of learning how to use it properly by her best friend. Her blue eyes moved away from the racket to her Eriol, who was effortlessly twirling her own white Prince racket in her right hand while bouncing a tennis ball in her left._

_"Watch."_

_Tenx obeyed. She moved a few feet away from the Filipina, but remained relatively close. Eriol tossed the ball up into the air, positioning her racket behind her back. With practiced timing, she brought her racket forward and brought the head of it down on the ball -- hitting the sweet spot on the strings -- and sent the ball flying across the court, over the net, and into the service box on the other side of the court. Tenx's blue eyes sparkled in admiration as she walked over to her._

_"You're just so good at it," the Italiana said, "You've been doing this longer than I've been. How am I supposed to get that good?"_

_Eriol let out a breathy laugh, "How else? With practice of course."_

_Tenx gave her a serious look. "Eriol, c'mon let's be serious here for a moment. I mean, just look at the court. It's littered with balls that I failed to hit over the net!" She made a wild gesture to their half of the court with the many tennis balls strewn about. Only a hand full of balls were on the other side, but how they got there was beyond Tenx and Eriol didn't look like she was going to start questioning their presence there anyway._

_The Filipina grinned as she lightly patted her friend's head. "So?" she asked, going over to the nearest ball and picking it up, "That just means you need to work harder to get the ball over. The serve is pretty much the most important component of the game -- it starts it. Once you master it, the rest will be easy."_

_Tenx stared at her friend incredulously, but Eriol only proceeded to pick up more balls and put them on the face of her racket. "And besides," the Filipina continued, catching the Italiana's attention once more, "I know a little training exercise we can do. My coach used to make me do it a lot when I was still learning how to serve."_

_Tenx's expression lightened up immediately as she darted over to her friend's side and began to pick up balls as well. "Do you think it'll work?"_

_Eriol let out an airy laugh, "Of course! Once you get the hang of this technique, serving will come naturally. And get this: you only need one ball."_

_"Really? Well, what do you call this secret training technique of yours?"_

_"Haha...it's generally called the 'Server's Trap.'"_

_"Ohhhhh, sounds mysterious."_

_"Doesn't it?"_

_

* * *

_

Tenx was slowly brought into consciousness by the screaming alarm clock on the bedside table close to her head. Her blues eyes were forced open as her hand slapped the surface of the table, lamely, in her attempt to shut the annoying mechanism off. Groggily pushing herself into a sitting position after successfully silencing the nuisance, Tenx stretched her arms above her head and worked the kinks out of her neck before actually getting out of bed and stumbling into the bathroom. After taking a shower and dressing up in her new tennis jersey, Tenx hauled her tennis bag off the floor and over her shoulder. She had made sure that she packed her bag last night since she didn't want to be late to her first official practice as a starter. With a sigh, Tenx finally exited her room and descended the stairs to the kitchen. The smell fresh eggs and pancakes greeted her.

"Morning," the elder Medici greeted, putting a plate of toast on the table.

"Morning...," the younger said, still groggy as she took a seat and began to eat.

"So...first official morning practice?" her father questioned as he took a seat as well.

Tenx merely nodded as she scooped as much of the food available as she could fit on her plate. She began to eat slowly, chewing the food methodically as she mulled over the anticipated events of the day. Morning practice with the team. First official morning practice as a starter. How she managed to become one of those was still beyond her comprehension. She barely even registered her father's voice as he chatted, animatedly, on and on about...something the female Medici barely caught.

* * *

_"Okay, here's what we do."_

_Tenx eagerly watched as Eriol dumped all but one of the tennis balls into the ball basket she had brought with her. She then walked over to the fence surrounding the tennis court and motioned for the Italiana to follow. Tenx hurried over, a bounce in her step._

_"You already know the basic movements, even if we can't get the timing right," Eriol explained, bouncing the ball on the face of her racket, "This excercise is going to help fix that."_

_Tenx nodded, watching as Eriol turned her back and faced the fence._

_"First, go about the motions as if you're really going to serve."_

_A look of concern flashed briefly through Tenx's blue eyes. But Eriol kept going. She bounced the ball with her left hand a couple times before catching it and throwing it up in the air._

_"Make sure you get the ball nice and high," the Filipina advised, stretching her arm up all the way, "And make sure to extend your arm. Make it look like you're going to catch the ball again."_

_To make a point, she kept her palm open and caught the ball as it made its decent back to earth. She then bounced the ball before tossing it up in the air again._

_"Then, just after the ball reaches its highest point....BAM!"_

_With precise timing, Eriol had, after positioning the racket head behind her back, brough the racket's face to the ball and slammed it up against the fence. Tenx's gaze was focused on the ball; it was pinpointed right in the middle of the racket's face and nestled nicely between the racket strings and the fence. Eriol then turned her head to look at her friend._

_"This is where you want the ball to be when you hit your serve," she informed Tenx, "The racket's 'Sweet Spot.' It's where you get the most power and the best execution." She then grinned, taking her racket away from the fence and allowing the ball to plummet back down to the earth and bounce before catching it. She then handed the ball to Tenx, who accepted it reluctantly._

_"I want you to mimic what I just did -- perfectly."_

_"Are you crazy?!"_

_"Me? No. Just optimistic."_

_

* * *

_

Tenx and her father walked out to the car and soon the latter was driving them to Seishun Gakuen. Tenx had opted to keep her tennis bag with her in the front seat, and was fiddling with the zipper. Every now and then, she would unzip her bag just a bit to look inside. She made sure that her racket and her spare were in the same compartment, and she made sure that her school uniform was in the other pocket of her bag as well as her homework. She sighed before zipping it back up and leaning back in her chair. Then, she would have the look of someone remembering something and repeat the whole process all over again.

"If you don't sit back and relax, you're going to give me the jitters," the elder Medici sighed. His own blue eyes darted to his daughter's frame before turning back to the road. "Tenx, don't look so worried. You'll do fine. You made the team after all, and two of the starters already attested to your skills."

"Yeah...but dad," Tenx began, in a tone that almost sounded like she was whining, "If I'm right, one of them was Eriol and -"

"And she must be proud that your skills have improved so much," her father finished, not hiding the pride in his voice, "Tenx. I know it's been a while since you've seen your friend, but at least have some faith in her decision. She believes in you and in what you can do. You don't want to let her down, do you?"

Tenx gave a huff and sank further in her seat. He had a point...he had a point, and she hated that.

* * *

_Tenx did exactly as Eriol had asked, except she did not achieve the same results. Tenx was able to go through the movements: from tossing the ball up and keeping her arm fully extended, to putting her racket behind her back in the 'back-scratch' position, to bringing the racket down on the ball. But she was getting nowhere. Her timing was horrible. She would miss the ball completely at times and the ball would bounce off the top of her head before landing on the ground. Other times, she would barely nick the ball and put some strange spin on it that would cause it to bounce in random directions upon hitting the ground. And then there were times where she thought she had got the timing perfectly, but to her dismay the ball somehow ended up over the fence and outside the court. How she managed to do that, she had no idea. None whatsoever. Each time that happened, she would just go and get another ball from the basket. As she did so for the fifth time in the last half hour, Tenx looked over at Eriol who had gone to the court right next to Tenx's to practice while Tenx was working on the Server's Trap._

_Tenx watched as Eriol bounced the ball with her racket while running laps around the court and then, in mid-stride, begin bouncing the ball on top of her racket. After two laps of bouncing the ball on the face of the racket, Eriol began bouncing the ball on the side of the racket frame - her chocolate brown gaze never leaving the ball._

_Tenx bit her lower lip before trudging all the way back to the fence. Why did she even bother asking Eriol to teach her how to play anyway? It was obvious that the latter's talent for the sport was far beyond anything Tenx had imagined. It was obvious that Eriol was way better at it than she was. How was Tenx ever going to get as good as Eriol was if she couldn't even get a stinking exercise right? Eriol kept going on and on about how all she did was practice...but how could Tenx do the same thing if she couldn't even get that part right?_

_In front of the fence again, Tenx's grip on the ball tightened as she raised her eyes to it. She grit her teeth, in a frustrated manner, before tossing the ball up into the air and brining her racket down with all her might. The empty sound of the racket hitting the fence resounded in her ears as the ball bounced, uselessly, beside her. But Tenx wasn't done. With a growl, she swiftly picked the ball up before trying again and ending with the same results. With another frustrated growl, she tried again._

_Eriol, who had since finished her laps, merely jogged in place, bouncing the ball on her racket. She watched Tenx, quietly - thoughtfully. No matter how many times Tenx missed the ball, she picked it up again and kept trying. The Filipina grinned. She liked that about Tenx. She wouldn't stop until she nailed it. Tenx was tenacious like that, and Eriol knew that. After a few more minutes of watching Tenx, Eriol approached._

_"Ne, Tenx. You've been pushing yourself awfully hard. Do you want to take a rest?"_

_Tenx looked over at Eriol, after missing the ball yet again. The former had worked up quite the sweat, as her brow glistened with it. The latter looked a little winded and sweaty, but still rather energetic as usual._

_"Not yet," Tenx replied, picking the ball up again, "Not until I get this right."_

_Eriol shrugged as Tenx returned her gaze to the fence and tossed the ball up again. However, the Filipina did not fail to see the fire burning in Tenx's eyes. She grinned as she watched Tenx bring her racket back and then swing at the ball, with all of her might. The sound of an item being pinned up against the fence seemed to echo all around them. Blue eyes stared in disbelief at the ball between the racket and the fence. Tenx gaped, not moving a muscle as if any sudden movement would cause the illusion to disappear. Removing her racket, she watched the ball fall to the ground and bounce. It was no illusion. She had done it._

_"Ahhh! Good job, Tenx! I knew you could do it!" Eriol exclaimed, instantly attaching herself to the Italiana and enveloping her in a bone-crushing hug, "See? All you needed was time to practice and get your timing right! Ahhh! I'm so proud of you!"_

_Still speechless as ever, Tenx merely laughed as Eriol finally let go of her friend and kept an arm slung around Tenx's neck._

_"Saa...let's go pick up those balls that you managed to hit over the fence now, okay?"_

_"Ugh... First you build me up, then you tear me down..."_

_"Well, I have to figure out some way to not let all of this get to your head."_

_

* * *

_

Tenx's father dropped her off at school and Tenx slung her tennis bag on her shoulder. With a sigh after watching her dad drive away, Tenx began her walk to the courts.

"Tenx! Tenx!" a voice called out to her.

Tenx turned around and saw the silver-haired, violet-eyed Seiki.

"Good morning!" she greeted, upon making it to Tenx's side.

"Good morning," Tenx nodded as the two of them began making their way to the courts. The two chatted animatedly until they were near the courts and heard another voice calling out to them.

"Tenx! Seiki! Hurry up and get changed! Practice is going to start soon!" the fukubuchou called from the court, already dressed and ready to go. The other members of the team were there too.

"Hai! Coming, fukubuchou!" Seiki called, before dashing away to the court, "Tenx! Hurry!"

"Oh! Right!" Tenx ran after her.

As they walked in through the gates, the fukubuchou greeted them.

"Good morning, Seiki and Tenx. Ready for practice?"

"Good morning, fukubuchou!" Seiki greeted with a big grin.

"Good morning," Tenx greeted, walking up to the vice-captain, "And you of all people should know I'm always ready to practice, Eriol."

Eriol grinned, "Of course you are. Now that everyone's here, let's get to work!"

"Hai!"

* * *

**Ending Notes:**

I cannot express how sorry I am that this got out so late. All I have to say is that whenever I took a break from writing this chapter, I just could not remember the direction it was heading in so I had to rewrite it a couple of times. That and I was simply uninspired. But! I finally was and here it is. Sorry if it feels like I keep changing my writing style with each chapter. In a way, I kind of am since I'm experimenting with a few things with this story...and the numerous breaks I keep taking from it add to that. I'll try my best to keep updating in a semi-periodic manner...

This chapter mainly illustrates the friendship between Tenx in Eriol... Yeah. There should be more of Kaidoh in the chapters to come.

Reviews and comments are always appreciated.

- Cruza


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** [ insert disclaimer here ]

I'm too lazy to type it all out . . .

* * *

**Chapter Four: Reunion**

"You're an effing Spartan," Tenx growled, sounding as winded as ever. Each word she uttered came in between pants as she laid on the ground, glaring over at Eriol. The vice-captain was still looking fresh as a daisy, even with all of the condition they had been doing. Running laps around the court, doing ten sets of lunges across several courts, push-ups and sit-ups... This was getting to be a bit much. And the Filipina looked like she was actually enjoying watching all of them struggle through it all. Beside the Italiana sat Seiki, who was taking a long drink from her water bottle, and the rest of the girls' team was lazing around the shade of the tree beside the courts with them. Everyone, except for Eriol and their captain - who has yet to show. Eriol was leafing through the papers on the clipboard, again, before looking over at the exhausted team and giving them a light smile. Tenx could feel her eye twitch at that smile - the same damn one that encouraged her to run all of those freaking laps and take the burning sensation in her arms as she did push-ups.

"That's enough for today," were the glorious words that came out of the vice captain's mouth as she let the papers fall back into position and turned to face the team, "You've all been working hard this week, so we'll end afternoon practice a little early today. Just remember; the ranking matches are just around the corner so you should practice out of scheduled team practice too."

"Ranking matches?" Tenx repeated, quite confused as to what that was. She lifted her inquiring gaze to where the vice captain was, but was startled a bit to see that her best friend was no longer there. She sat up and looked around, wondering where the Filipina had gone in such a short amount of time. Her blue eyes finally caught some movement; Eriol was already well on her way out of there. Pursing her lips together, Tenx let out a huff. "And where does she think she's going?" she wondered aloud, sounding irritated.

"Probably to find buchou," said one of the ninth graders - Takenaga Hanoo, Tenx believed her name was. Hanoo was Satsuki's doubles partner and only through practice was Tenx even able to meet her and the other member of the team - Yuimoki Meroko, another ninth grader - who Tenx had not seen since the day she had met her.

"Oh...well, that makes sense," Tenx admitted, blinking. Eriol had been leaving right after practice, lately, to report to their buchou...whoever that was. "Well, what are these ranking matches...things?" she asked, getting to her feet and following the other girls to the locker room to change.

"It's exactly as it sounds," Seiki answered, walking in stride with the Italiana, "The ranking matches are held every few weeks to make sure that only the best of the best are on the starter's team. Basically, it's a round-robin style tournament among the members of the tennis club, as it remains open to all members. Only the nine players with the best win-loss record at the end of the tournament are given spots as starters to represent Seishun at the upcoming tournaments."

"Wait...so...," Tenx trailed off, gathering her thoughts, "The ranking matches are designed to keep the Seishun team at the top of its game. So, what happens if one of the members already on the starter team has a record that doesn't quite cut it?"

"Well, that member gets replaced," Seiki answered, in a matter-of-fact tone, "They don't exactly get ousted from the team, but they just don't get to play as often. You can say they become a substitute."

"Now, if that's true, how did I even make the team in the first place? I mean, I just moved here and all and...," Tenx was quite confused now.

Seiki tapped her chin for a moment. "Honestly, I don't know that one. I'd ask either buchou or fukubuchou on that one."

"I can answer that," Hanoo stated, popping up in front of them. To be perfectly honest, that move had scared Tenx to the point where she did a little jump in surprise. Seiki, on the other hand, seemed unfazed. She was already used to their eccentric senpai's behavior. Hanoo lifted a finger and pointed it at the rather confused Italiana, "It's because Meroko can't exactly play right now, and we need another name to put on the roster to submit to Coach before we can begin the ranking matches. Right now, Tenx is listed as a substitute - only because her skills are slightly above those of the regular club members and her status as a new student.

"Oh...," Seiki seemed to be in thought,"Well, what happened to Meroko-senpai? I haven't seen her play with us in a while..."

"It seems she's got a case of Osgood-Schlatters Disease in her right knee," Hanoo replied, easily.

"Osh...splat...what?" Tenx tried to repeat, but failed miserably

"No - Osgood-Schlatters," Hanoo said, before continuing, noting both hers and Seiki's confused looks, "It's basically a pain that comes from the tendon under your knee cap. See, while you're growing and remain active, you put a lot of stress on that tendon and weakens its attachment to the knee cap itself. This causes swelling, inflammation, and a whole world of pain. I would imagine that Meroko will be out for...a while because of that."

While Tenx was staring, blinking at Hanoo for informing them of all of this, Seiki raised a delicate eyebrow, "And Hanoo-senpai knows this...how?"

Hanoo grinned before tapping her head a few times, "Because Hanoo-senpai does her research."

* * *

Tenx had her tennis bag, with all of her belonging, slung over her shoulder as she walked to the boy's courts. She was a bit miffed by the fact that Eriol hadn't returned to the locker room. Was she that busy? Or did she forget that she was supposed so spend the afternoon with Tenx, go back to her house, and then have a sleepover (since there was no school tomorrow) like they had arranged the day before? Either way, the sound of rallies going on and encouraging yells from across the courts caught her attention as she got closer. She arrived at the gate leading to the courts a few moments later, looking through the chain links to the boys on the courts. She noticed that a handful of them wore a Starter Jersey - surely they were on the starting team. She was so entranced by their long rallies that she didn't notice when someone came up next to her.

"Ah, Medici Tenx," the unfamiliar voice spoke. Jumping, for the second time that day, Tenx whirled around and set her blue eyes on a rather tall, spiky-haired, bespectacled boy. He was carrying a green notebook. The boy offered her a grin before opening his notebook and flipping to a certain page. "Medici Tenx," the boy said again, looking to be reading off of the page in his notebook, "Second Year - Class A. Transfer student. Substitute player for the girl's team. Stats are as followed: speed is average; strength is average; endurance is slightly above average. An over-all average yet well-rounded playing style. Your footwork could use a little more work. There is a potential to increase the power of your shots with the proper training. And you -"

The boy was stopped by Tenx reached over and snatching the notebook from his hands. The Italiana was, at first, surprised and mystified as the boy read off facts about her. That quickly changed to anger and indignation. Just who did he think he was anyway? And what exactly was in that notebook about her? Her sharp blue eyes scanned over the page, in horror, as she saw her entire play style analyzed in formulas, quick notes, and numbers.

"What the... Who the hell are you? And what the hell is this?" she demanded, struggling to keep her voice from rising to an all-out yell. She held the book so that she could both show and point at the pages with her stats on it.

The boy cleared his throat, "Well, my name is Inui Sadaharu. I am a member of the Boys' Tennis team, and I specialize in data collecting, hence the notebook with all of your data. Now if you don't mind..." He reached over and plucked the notebook from Tenx's hands as she stood there, mulling over the information she had just acquired from this...Inui person.

"Okay...that answers my questions, but why do you have all my stats? And when did you get them? I mean, as far as I know, this is my first time meeting you," she questioned, dropping her angry tone of voice and adopting a more curious one.

Inui chuckled before tucking his notebook under his arm, "I believe Cruz-fukubuchou asked for my assistance when analyzing your playing abilities for the team. My input was rather vital to her and her decision before she submitted it to both Coach and Hinami-buchou."

"Hinami-buchou?" Tenx repeated, "Who is that?"

Inui gave her an incredulous look. "Hinami-buchou, as in Hinami Ayeka. The captain of the girls' team?"

"Oh..." So that was the captain's name.

Inui raised an eyebrow but decided to drop the subject. He knew, after all, that Tenx was still a rather new student. At that moment, one of the gates to the tennis courts opened.

"Inui-senpai," a voice called, causing both Inui and Tenx to look up. The latter was surprised to see none other than the Viper - Kaidoh Kaoru.

"Ah, Kaidoh," Inui greeted, "Is it time for the next drill?" His answer came in a silent nod. "All right then. I'll see you later then, Medici-chan," Inui said, walking passed her, "And I believe you'll find Cruz-fukubuchou by the boys' club room, where Coach Ryuzaki should be." And with that, he left with Kaidoh. But before Kaidoh returned to the courts, he gave Tenx an acknowledging nod - which she returned.

"...this school is just full of weirdos...," Tenx commented to herself after sigh. Gathering her stuff together, she walked off to find her friend.

* * *

"So, you met Seishun's Data Collector today did you?" Eriol asked with a bright grin. The two were at Eriol's house, seated comfortably on her bed. Tenx had recounted the events of her quest to find Eriol, and the latter found it all amusing.

"Yeah, and he's kind of weird if you ask me," Tenx replied, rolling over to lie on her back, "And so are a lot of people at Seishun, now that I think about it."

Eriol laughed, "That's what makes Seishun so interesting."

"Hmmm...I guess you have a point..."

A comfortable silence settled in between the two of them. Tenx then rolled over to lie on her stomach, raising her blue eyes to look at her Filipino friend.

"Eriol?"

"Tenx."

The Italiana decided to ask her friend the question that had been bugging her since practice ended, "Eriol, how did I make the team? Err...more like why?"

Although Tenx's question didn't seem to make much sense and it was rather vague, Eriol seemed to understand what it was exactly she was asking. With a soft smile, she explained, "Don't get me wrong or anything; I was ecstatic when I found out you wanted to join the team. However, as the vice-captain, I can't let my emotions or prior affiliations affect my judgments. Hinami-senpai couldn't be there to help oversee your try-out, so it was all up to me. In order for me to make a fair assessment of your skills and potential, I asked Inui-senpai to help me - which he did. It's as he told you; his input and the data he gathered on you were vital to deciding whether or not to let you join. According to him, your skills are average but you have the potential to improve them. And I believe that you can become an even better player. All you have to do is practice and really give it your all."

"...you really mean that?" All through Eriol's explanation, Tenx had remained quiet and listened attentively. It was touching, to her, to hear her friend say all those things about her. Eriol really did believe at her...

"Of course I do," Eriol said, with a huff, "Why would I waste my breath saying things that don't mean a thing?"

Tenx grinned, "Yeah, guess you're right."

Eriol returned that grin, and then said, "All right. It's late. Let's go to bed. We're getting up bright and early tomorrow for practice."

"Wait...what?"

"You heard me."

"Practice? Early? Huh?"

"Good night, Tenx. We're getting up at 6 o'clock so get a good night's rest."

"...you really know how to build me up then break me down..."

"Course I do; can't let all of that praise go to your head."

"...spartan..."


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** [ disclaimer goes here ]

Hmm. . . Chapter 4 was a bit too short for my tastes - even if I was in one of my inspirational spasms. So, I decided to work on this one as fast as I could before Inspiration decided to go on its merry way. . .or at least i started this one when I was still inspired. Sorry this one took forever to get out.

* * *

**Chapter Five: Rallies**

The sun was shining all too brightly for Tenx's tastes. Maybe it was because she still felt a little groggy. Maybe it was because she didn't get to sleep in like she had planned to. Or maybe it was because Eriol woke her up exactly at 6 o'clock that morning - looking all bright and chipper. Yeah, that was definitely it. The Italiana was grumbling to herself as she got into the rhythm of a rally with the wall. Yeah, that's right - Tenx was hitting against a wall.

When she and Eriol had arrived at the public tennis courts that morning, the latter had decided that a round of stretches and a nice morning jog were in order. The stretching wasn't so bad, but it was the running that got to her. Who the hell told her that "a mile a day kept the doctor away?" Tenx had run herself ragged and into a very, very unhappy mood. And that was just in the first hour.

"Oh, shoot!" Eriol had exclaimed, after they had their mile run. She was rummaging through her bag while Tenx was sitting on the floor, trying to catch her breath. "Looks like I forgot the snacks I set aside as a breakfast for us. Oh, and Tenx, don't sit down like that after a good run. It's not that good for you. Why don't you get started on warming up your ground strokes while I go run down to the nearest store for breakfast. I won't belong; I promise."

And that was about fifteen minutes ago. Alone at the courts, Tenx took the time to see that it was a really nice place. The wall she was currently hitting against was steps away from the two tennis courts behind her. The courts and wall themselves were located in a nice park in town. She could hear the distant laughter of children playing. And every now and then a bird would chirp. Honestly, it was a really nice place. It was a shame that she had been brought there in such mood-killing conditions.

"Stupid early morning practice," she grumbled, glaring at the tennis ball as it bounced off the wall, onto the ground, and back to her, "Freaking tennis co-captain. When I said I wanted to hang out, this was not what I had in mind!" She pronounced each word with the utmost hatred and anger, each syllable dripping with her frustration and foul mood. With an angry cry, Tenx swung her racket as hard as she could and smacked the tennis ball into the wall. Unfortunately, the laws of physics kicked in and the ball bounced off the wall with the same intensity that it hit it with. Tenx didn't even bother trying to dodge, as she was still fuming. The ball missed her anyway, and shot off somewhere behind her. She stood there, grumbling, for a few more minutes until she sighed and sat down. No sooner did she sit did she hear her stomach growl. "Well, isn't this great? Gosh. . . Shoot me in the face!"

". . .I don't know about you, but I can think of a few people who would be upset if someone actually did that. . ."

Tenx immediately scrambled to her feet, receiving an answer she didn't expect from behind her. She turned around, ready to start yelling at how she didn't like it when people snuck up behind her. To her surprise, it was Kaidoh, and he was holding the ball she had carelessly discarded. He held the ball out, and Tenx took it with a small word of thanks and a "good morning."

"Did you come to practice too, Kaidoh?" she asked, bouncing the ball on the floor with her racket a few times. She needed to feel like she was doing something, or else Eriol would say something about it. While the notion was completely absurd, it wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility when it came to her Filipino friend. That freak. . .

"Yeah," Kaidoh responded, shoving his hands in his pockets and shrugging his shoulders to readjust the bag hanging from his left shoulder. He took a moment to look around and asked, "You came to practice by yourself?"

"No. Eriol - uhhh. . . Cruz-fukubuchou was here a while ago. But she left to get food." The Italiana didn't even bother to mention that she had no idea when her friend was coming back. And she was getting hungry. It was then that her stomach thought that it was the opportune moment to remind her that it was empty, and it emitted a growling noise. Tenx looked surprised, and laughed nervously as she slapped a hand over her stomach. "Hahaha. . .guess I must be getting hungry."

Kaidoh raised an eyebrow, before pulling his bag in front of him and opening a pocket. He rummaged through it until he pulled out an energy bar. "Here," he said, handing it to the girl, "Eat this. It might not fill you up, but at least it'll put something in your stomach."

"Aww, thank you Kaidoh," Tenx said, taking the energy bar and opening the wrapping before taking a bite. If she hadn't been so hungry she might have been a little more gracious, or reluctant, to receive it. All she got in response was a gruff "yeah" from Kaidoh. She then got an idea, and turned to Kaidoh after wolfing down the bar, "Hey, Kaidoh. It might be a while before fukubuchou gets back. Want to rally with me in the meantime?"

* * *

What was she thinking? Asking Kaidoh Kaoru to rally with her. . . They had been at it for at least half an hour (with at least five rallies before this one), and he still hadn't broken a sweat! Granted, he had better control of the ball - and thus, he had the momentum of the rally on his side - and he was hitting the ball from corner to corner and making Tenx run from side to side to retrieve them. Tenx didn't have any grand ideas or inspirations of making Kaidoh mess up and, thus, "win" the rally so much as she was concerned with hitting the ball back and continuing the rally. And, to that end, she would continue to chase down each hit and send it right back at the bandanna boy.

On the other side of the net, Kaidoh watched as Tenx dashed to each hit he made and returned it. While her power was more on the low side, he thought it quite intelligent of her to focus more on consistency and placement. Each hit she sent back at him landed just behind the service line, prompting him to move up from the baseline to hit it back before retreating. That's a good strategy. Any normal opponent would start getting impatient and start moving up to the net, which would make them vulnerable to overhead shots and having to move back again and wasting their energy. In addition, the opponent would then be free to move up to the net. . .

"Shoot!"

Kaidoh snapped out of his thoughts long enough to see that Tenx's latest return was a dud. She had slipped up somewhere and hit the ball a little to high and not enough spin. The result was the perfect set-up for a smash - and Kaidoh took it. He ran up to the net, with his racket poised for the hit. In response, Tenx moved back well behind the baseline. Smashes were power shots that have a huge bounce-back area. If she was standing back far enough, she might have a shot at being able to return the smash with a ground-stroke. Or. . .not. The smash Kaidoh hit was perfect - it bounced back up way too high for Tenx to get a good hit on it.

"Ah, that was a good one," Tenx conceded, clapping her hand on the face of her racket. Kaidoh only nodded, and both of them were surprised to hear another set of applause.

"Good job, guys," Eriol complimented the two of them, grinning.

"Eriol!" Tenx shouted, pointing a finger at her, "Where have you been? You left me here all alone and with no food! I can't believe you! You said we were going to practice and all you did was make me run and leave me!"

The Filipina only laughed, and waving her hand, "Sorry, sorry. But! I'll make it up to you. I ran into Taka-senpai in town, and he said that it was okay if we stopped by his family's sushi restaurant on our way home this afternoon."

"Yeah! You better make it up - did you say sushi?"

Eriol nodded, before turning to Kaidoh, who looked rather confused at Tenx's sudden outburst, "You're more than welcome to join us later, Kaidoh-kun."

The Viper shook his head, "It's fine. I need to run some more drills." He then turned to Tenx and bowed his head, "Thank you for the rally." With that, he went to his bag and put his racket away and got ready to leave.

"Oh well, thank you for the rally too," Tenx called after him, as he exited the court. Eriol looked from Tenx to Kaidoh's retreating figure and shrugged. That boy was always training. She wondered if he ever took any time off. No, probably not.

"Hey, Tenx. Want to rally with me?"

"After making me wait this long for you to come back? Hell no!"

"Awww, c'mon Tenx. The ranking matches are coming up. You need all the practice you can get."

"Don't you dare play that card on me, Eriol Cruz."

"Fine, I'll just play the 'I'm your fukubuchou, and you need to practice because I said so' card then."

"No! You can't do that either! I won't rally with you!"

"All right, guess I can't force you to. I guess that means we're not stopping by the sushi restaurant tonight then."

". . .spartan. . ."

* * *

**Ending Notes:**

WOW. That took longer than necessary and it wasn't even that good. asdfghjkl; [ /shot ]

Sorry for the wait, guys. But! I already have an idea for the next chapter and I hope to get that one written before I lose all of my motivation to Finals. Yay finals. . . But, as I said in my announcements, Winter Break is just around the corner (literally!) and once I finish my Finals in the next week I expect to write more. So yeah, thanks for bearing with me.

Rates and reviews are much appreciated and feel free to message me about anything really.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: Ranking Matches**

"Good game!" Tenx said to her opponent, shaking hands across the net. After a week of Eriol's spartan training regiment (as Tenx so affectionately called it), Tenx was feeling very confident in her ability to hold rallies and run her opponents ragged around the court. That was evident in the exhausted smile that the other girl was giving her, still panting from the last bout the Italiana had put her through. What surprised Tenx even more, though, was the fact that she had won her first ranking match 6-4. Tenx won. She won. As in, her record was currently at 1 win, 0 losses, and she was that much closer to cementing her position as a starter on the girls' tennis team.

But, that last thought was more of an after-thought. The most important thing, right now, was that Tenx won. And she couldn't get that beaming smile off of her face if she tried as she went to go and report her score.

"Looks like the 'spartan training' was worth it," Seiki commented, sitting behind the table where all the score sheets, along with the score board, were. It seems like it was Seiki's turn to babysit the table. Tenx seemed to grin wider and Seiki gave a chuckle as she got up and looked for her name on the score board. "What was the final score?"

"Six games to four," Tenx replied, watching as Seiki nodded and wrote down the score.

"Well, good job, Tenx. What else is there to say?" Seiki said, grinning as she turned around, "We're only doing the preliminary matches today. There's still a lot more games going on, so we won't know the next set of matches until these finish. So, you're all done for now."

Tenx blinked, her grin faltering for a moment. "No way, really?"

"Yes, really."

"Wait. . .so what do I do now?"

Seiki chuckled at her boggled expression, "You can wander around and watch the other matches, if you want. Fukubuchou is busy taking care of a few things with buchou and Coach. Though, I think the boys' are having their ranking matches too. Yoshimi finished her match early, so you can find her there."

"What about you, Seiki?"

"Well, it's my turn to watch the table. I'll definitely swing by the boys' courts when my shift's over, though."

Tenx nodded, "All right then. I'll see you later." She then jogged over to the boys' courts, quite interested in how their ranking matches were going.

* * *

"Kikumaru Eiji, third year. He specializes in 'acrobatic play,' and he's Oishi-senpai's doubles partner. Together, they make Seishun's 'Golden Pair,'" Yoshimi explained, as she and Tenx were watching a certain red-headed tennis player bound around the tennis court as he played his game. Tenx nodded, slightly mesmerized and curious as to where a person came up with the idea to jump and twist around and turn that into their style of play. "Ah, looks like Kaidoh's game is about to start."

That totally snapped Tenx out of her trance. "Kaidoh?" she asked, snapping her head toward her companion. Yoshimi arched a delicate eyebrow, but shrugged it off.

"Ah," she confirmed, pointing to a court a down the ways, "It looks like he's getting ready to warm-up. Would you like to watch?"

Tenx considered the offer, and replied, "Sure. I'm interested in seeing him play."

Yoshimi nodded and navigated the two of them over to Kaidoh's court, watching Tenx as she seemed fixated on the tennis player in question. A thought struck her, and she gave herself a few moments before posing her question, "Does Kaidoh interest you, Tenx?"

"Huh?" The Italiana was caught completely off-guard. She turned toward Yoshimi, her expression conveying her confusion.

The latter gave her a neutral look and cooly restated her question, "Does Kaidoh interest you? Is there something about him that you find interesting?"

Tenx blinked a few times, not quite sure what the other girl was getting at. "Yes, I think he's an interesting person," she began, slowly, "His tennis skills are amazing. I've only hit with him a few times before, but that's enough for me to know that he takes tennis seriously. I'm not sure how to phrase it. . .but I just really want to watch him play. Hitting against someone, and sitting back to actually watch them are two different things right?"

Yoshimi's blank look, though, was making Tenx second guess herself a bit. Did she say something wrong? Had something not made sense? Luckily, she didn't have to dwell on that any longer before a grin slowly spread on the other girl's face.

"Yes, you have a point there," Yoshimi responded, slowly, making Tenx wonder what was going on through her head. The next statement, though, thoroughly surprised her, "You're a very interesting person, Tenx. Maybe I should try rallying with you some time."

"Uhhh. . .sure. I'm up for it whenever you are," Tenx agreed, still confused but smiling nonetheless. Yoshimi nodded, and the two of them turned back to the court in front of them. While the two of them had been immersed in their (slightly confusing) conversation, Kaidoh and his opponent had finished warming up and began their match.

* * *

"By the way, Tezuka-buchou, I heard that you allowed a seventh grader to partake in the ranking matches this year," said a female tennis player sporting the Seishun girls' team starter jersey. Eriol was seated upon the desk next to hers, looking over a few papers she held in her hands. The Filipina briefly glanced over at Hinami Ayeka, the captain of the girls' team. Ayeka was a third-year student, studious but also passionate about tennis. She advocated a sense of sportsmanship between players, and was big on the whole 'team' feeling. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, a few strands framing her face. Ayeka seemed to sense her co-captain looking in her direction, and raised her emerald green eyes to meet Eriol's chocolate brown ones. She gave the younger girl a smile, just as Tezuka answered her question.

"Ah. Echizen. He's young, but his skills are good."

Ayeka seemed to accept the answer, and went back to the papers she was looking over containing the list of names of players currently playing their ranking matches.

"Well, what about that new student you added to the girls'?" Oishi piped up, prompting the attention to fall on him.

"Medici?" Ayeka asked, receiving a nod in return. "Well, Cruz-chan has been working with her for the past week. And, from what I hear, she's getting along well with the other players. I haven't seen her skills for myself, but I have high hopes for her." She then turned her attention to her co-captain, who gave her inquisitive look. "I do hope, though, that you're not letting your prior affiliations with her cloud your judgment."

Eriol smiled at her captain, "I don't think that's a problem. If anything, our history together is only serving to make me want to push her to her limit as soon as possible."

Ayeka chuckled, "Ah, now it makes sense why you've been making the girls condition so much lately. Well, at least the entire team benefits." She then turned her attention back to the papers in her hands, looking up when Oishi decided to walk around and stretch. He situated himself by the window and looked out at the ranking matches still going on. Not that many now, but enough for him to know that all four of them would be there until late into the day.

* * *

"So, how were the ranking matches?" Tenx's father asked at the dinner table that night. The elder Medici was quite excited to hear how his daughter's day went. She looked quite excited that morning, and this past week she had been busy catching up with her old friend.

"It was amazing," Tenx responded, grinning widely, "So much tennis! There's more tomorrow, and probably for the rest of the week. At least, that's what Yoshimi said to expect. Ranking matches are a huge affair - I didn't really realize that until I was there. You should have seen it." Her father chuckled, as Tenx rambled on and on. At least she was enjoying herself. What more could he ask for?

* * *

**Ending Notes:**

Sorry this one felt like it was jumping around everywhere. Inspiration struck and I had to get this down after such a long absence. Finally introduced the mysterious captain of the girls' team - Ayeka ~ She's one of my personal favorite OCs I have for this story, and she'll be making more of an appearance as the story progresses.

Again, not much Kaidoh, but I swear there will be more of him.

o Ao;;


End file.
